A Story At Bedtime: The Benefits Of Ending The Day With A Good Book

As Christmas approached at the end of last year I decided I was going to do Lily a book calendar. I wasn’t sure exactly how, whether to wrap each book or give them to her each morning. In the end I decided it would be a bedtime story each night. Whilst Joe bathed Lily I would get the next book and put it on her bed, ready for her to find once she got out the bath (it worked well as an incentive to get her out the bath as well!) Each night she would run and find the book that had been left for her by Father Christmas. I loved seeing her face light up as she saw the book on her bed each night.

The End Of The Book Calendar

As Christmas Day and the end of December approached I felt sad that the pile of books was going down. Before December we never really did bedtime stories, I read to Lily a lot, but just not as she was going to bed. I used to simply give her a bottle of milk and maybe sing a lullaby or two. But this new routine of bath then book I was loving, and so was she! But there was no way I could afford to buy a new book every night for the whole year. Then I thought well it doesn’t need to be a NEW book every night, there’s nothing wrong with reading the same book again and again.

Continuing The Routine

So ever since we have been continuing the bedtime story routine. There isn’t a new book on the bed each night like before, but I choose a story to read to her and as she’s settling down drinking her milk in bed I read her one. Once I’ve finished I give her a kiss and tuck her in and say goodnight. I sit on the stall in her room for a few minutes and she’s usually fast asleep. The books seem to work wonders for winding her down and I look forward to it, it’s our special time. I want to keep Lily interested in books as much as possible and a bedtime story is a great way of injecting books in to our children’s lives.

Who am I?

My name's Beth, I live in East Sussex with my husband Joe and our daughter Lily-Mae. I juggle part time work alongside adventures out and about with Lily. I'm aiming to write an honest blog about the trials and triumphs of parenting. I started blogging on and off when I was pregnant with Lily, but I never stuck to it until now. This time I have found my blogging groove and can't imagine my life without it! I'm a bit of what some might call a "hippie mum", I'm a cuddler, not a cry it outer. I am a cup of tea loving, scruffy bun wearing, soft play hating, chocolate adoring, will-probably -be-at least-10-minutes-late-to-a-playdate kind of mum, but above all I just love being a mum.